When envisioning the type of person I thought would make a perfect caregiver for my kids, there were many obvious criteria. After checking off "breathing" and "possibly hard of hearing" (helpful for saving ones' sanity in this house), there were several attributes I knew I wanted but was not sure I could find.
I wanted someone who had experience in dealing with kids like mine. Its hard to put together an ad for a babysitter when you need someone with the patience of Job. Its not all the time, but when your child has a sudden anxiety attack that makes him start trying to put his fingernails through his eyelids, patience is a big thing. And I knew full well that when I wrote the terms "ADHD" and "Bipolar" in my ad, I was going to scare away pretty much everyone who might be looking for a part time childcare job.
I wanted someone who either likes big, scary dogs, or at least doesn't mind them, because if they're not comfortable with this:
(I know, scary, right?)
...then they'd probably quit after the first five minutes.
And really after "Patience of Job" and "Must Love Dogs," there's not that much more to it. Its not brain surgery, loving my kids. It just takes the right kind of person.
I think I found her.
Shhhhhhhh, don't jinx it.
I'm not saying any more than this because, you know I was so excited about the last one and we all know how well THAT went. Suffice it to say, I can check "finding a babysitter" off the to-do list for this week. God, mysterious as ever, sends blessings in the midst of life-quakes, as if to remind me that I'm not alone in this crazy thing.
